Taylor Swift unveiled her “ Wildest Dreams ” video at the MTV VMAs this weekend, and it has received quite a mixed response. The Huffington Post accused Ms. Swift of colonialism.
“Instead of the cultural appropriation that has become almost status quo in today’s pop music, Swift has opted for the bolder option of actually just embodying the political exploitation of a region and its people. It’s brave, really.”
The review got a harsh response from readers, who thought the author, Lauren Duca, was just trying to create a clickbait social justice warrior post.
“Lauren Duca channels bait clicks with outrageous headline,” writes Kevin Kehoe.
Many of the other commenters, who are anything but conservative (based on their other comments in different articles), agreed. On the other end of the spectrum, PopSugar declared the video as one of Swift’s best.
“Playing the role of an Old Hollywood actress, Taylor stuns alongside Scott Eastwood, rocking a variety of stunning ensembles. From a matching blue set paired with a headscarf to a yellow gown that blows in the wind, this is definitely what we’d wear in our wildest dreams.”
The response on Twitter is both fantastic and awful.
“Just when I unstan her, Taylor Swift releases another fantastic music video,” tweets Ebru.
“@Taylor Swift get off my screen with your terrible video,” tweets Brittney .
It appears that ‘Wildest Dreams’ isn’t the runaway critical acclaim hit that Taylor Swift had wanted. However, Swift certainly has nothing to worry about. After all, she just played Petco Park in San Diego this weekend and sold nearly 45,000 seats (as reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune ). Concerts at Petco usually attract a max of 40,000 people. The newspaper gave Swift’s show a rave review, for the most part.
“She expertly delivered her epic, stadium-sized spectacle with well-honed precision, unflagging enthusiasm and two surprise guests (Avril Lavigne and Jamaican singer OMI), if not always original staging and production concepts.”
The review goes on to note that the results were triumphant with some minor caveats. Taylor Swift is set to have the highest grossing tour by a female artist in 2015, even beating Madonna, who will still have a great year once her Rebel Heart Tour kicks off on September 9. It will be interesting to see if Taylor Swift can still attract a huge audience when she hits her 50s. There will inevitably be a Taylor Swift backlash that will test the endurance of the current Queen of Pop.
[Photo by Jason Merritt / Getty Images]
